From time to time, soldiers encounter chemical and biological weapons during operations. These weapons are often disruptive to operations due to the contamination that they pose. In addition, remediation often takes time and great care.
Two commonly used methods of remediating biological and chemical weapon threats include incineration and neutralization. When incineration is employed, the munitions are exposed to temperatures that are preferably high enough to decompose the chemical or biological components of the munitions into ash, water vapor, and carbon dioxide. This may also mitigate any explosive or propellants within a munition. Neutralization chemically alters the agent so that the agent poses a less severe threat than prior to neutralization. Neutralization agents and the resulting byproducts depend on the chemical and biological compositions being treated. These processes may involve one or more steps.
The above processes may be carried out in the field or in mobile labs. For example, larger stock piles may be disposed of in place by bomb drops that incinerate the munitions. However, this method may not be completely effective at destroying all the chemical or biological agents or may be excessive when smaller munition caches are present. Chemical and biological munitions may also be disposed of by neutralization in plants or mobile labs. However, it is often necessary to transport the munitions to the plants or transport the mobile labs to the munitions, which may involve relatively complex operations. Neither of these options may be suitable in situations where soldiers find smaller munition caches during operations. Accordingly, room for improvement remains for a relatively more flexible means of disposing of chemical and biological munitions.